Indonesia surpass Vietnam, Thailand's results in World Cup third qualifiers

After the historic victory at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia now have six points after six matches in Group C.

This is the best result by a Southeast Asian team in the third round of Asian qualifiers.

Indonesia's Marselino Ferdinan (number 7) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the 2026 World Cup Asian 3rd round qualifier football match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 19, 2024. Photo by AP

Under coach Park Hang-seo, Vietnam earned four points in the 2022 World Cup third qualifiers, thanks to a 3-1 win over China and a 1-1 draw with Japan. In the 2018 World Cup third qualifiers, Kiatisuk Senamuang’s Thailand gained two points with draws against Australia (2-2) and the UAE (1-1).

Indonesia's tally can further improve as they still have four matches to play in 2025. In March, they will visit Australia and then host Bahrain. In June, coach Shin Tae-yong's team will host China and travel to Japan.

Indonesia's group is comparable to those of Vietnam and Thailand, as all include World Cup regulars Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Australia.

However, apart from Japan, who manage to maintain their dominance, the other two teams have been unstable and have switched coaches during the third round, while Indonesia have bolstered their strength with players of Dutch-Indonesian descent.

Prior to their victory on Tuesday, Shin Tae-yong's squad drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia in the away leg, 0-0 with Australia, and 2-2 with Bahrain, while suffering a 1-2 loss to China and a 0-4 defeat against Japan.

Indonesia are projected to gain 16.23 points after the two November matches, climbing five spots to 125th place in the FIFA rankings - their highest position since January 2011. They have risen 21 places since December 2023.

Vietnam did not play in this international break but are expected to rise two spots to 117th, due to poor performances by Guinea-Bissau (116th) and Zimbabwe (117th) in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, causing both teams to drop four places. Thailand are likely to drop one place to 97th after drawing with lower-ranked teams Lebanon (0-0) and Laos (1-1).

The remaining Southeast Asian teams are ranked as follows: Malaysia at 132nd, the Philippines 149th, Singapore 161st, Myanmar 169th, Cambodia 180th, Brunei 184th, Laos 186th, and Timor-Leste 196th.